Instant messaging enables real time two-way electronic communication over a network, such as the Internet, between two or more users. When more than two users are participating in an instant messaging session, the session can become convoluted due to multiple user messages, or chats, being sent without any meaningful control over the order in which the chats are posted. For example, a first user may prompt a second user to answer a question. However, before the second user answers, a third user may post a chat to a fourth user. Thus, as comments, questions, and responses are exchanged, it frequently becomes difficult not only to follow a conversation, but also to track comments made by specific participants. This situation can become aggravated in saved/persistent chat or threaded chat environments where the chats are residual and, as a result, participants may come back at a later time and post to a chat session that has been ongoing for some time.
It therefore would be beneficial to provide a technique that improves chat communications.